My name is Tina Cifuentes, and I am in the second year of my gerontology master’s degree. At the beginning of the pandemic, when I was about 34, I left my job and decided to go back to school. I graduated last spring with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. I considered pursuing social work, but I decided that it wasn’t for me exactly. However, I am deeply committed to making a difference in the lives of families who are considered low-income and/or marginalized.

I grew up visiting my grandmothers a couple of times a year. At times, I lived with my maternal grandmother, however she passed away in 2016 when she was 76. I speak to my paternal grandmother a couple of times a month, which is more than I speak to anyone in my family. She is 81 years old and lives in DC, on the assisted living (AL) floor of a facility that has both AL and nursing home residents. In addition, I visit my partner’s parents a few times a year. Because people in my family had kids at younger ages, and his parents waited, they are nearly the same ages as my grandmothers. His parents are aging in place and live very active lives. The juxtaposition between our families has contributed to my interest and passion for gerontology.

I have worked in bookstores for nearly 20 years. Many of my customers are older adults. I have worked side by side with older adults as well. I interact with older adults everyday in other capacities as well, for instance, going to the grocery store. However, I have never worked in a setting that is dedicated to older adults as clients, consumers, or patients. I hope to gain skills and knowledge that will make me a better advocate for older adults and their families.

I started studying gerontology during my undergrad, so for me the terms “older adulthood” or “later life” take on many meanings depending on the context. If we are talking about policy in the United States, I would ask how the institution defines older adults, in which case, the answer is most likely people over the age of 65. If we are talking about grandparents, a stage of life that is associated with older ages, we could be talking about people in their forties. Finally, there are many populations who are considered older adults well before 65. When I think of later life, I tend to frame it as people at later stages of their lives. I say stages because people may become older adults and experience many changes in life during this period due to social and biological reasons. I imagine people who no longer work or work an easier job than the one they worked during middle adulthood. I think of comfortable footwear (I have foot issues from years of working retail in bad shoes, so this is top of mind!).

I will start considering myself an older adult in my 60s since that is when the public benefits start to kick in. However, if I don’t start getting active, I may feel like an older adult in my 50s. Based on how my family looks, I will probably look pretty similar, small with dark hair, but maybe a few more grays and some more wrinkles. I have pretty good health at this moment, and hopefully that continues into later life. I am not going to have children, so there will be no grandchildren for me in later life, though I hope to be active in my nieces’ and their families’ lives, if they (are able to) choose to have families. In my later life, I hope that I will continue to learn and grow. That could mean learning to cook better (I’m terrible), gardening (also terrible), or it could mean that I go back to school or learn a craft. I have always watched too much TV, I imagine I will still watch too much TV, but I’m going to manifest that I will pick up an active hobby to balance out the sitting.

Because of my family’s socioeconomic status, I am afraid of experiencing poverty, loneliness, and isolation in my later life. I fear poverty, because I’ve seen how big a difference money makes in people’s later lives, particularly having it throughout the life course, but also in later life. Money means access resources and preventative care. Money is not everything, but it can provide safety, comfort, and choices. I am a bit of an introvert, and I do not want kids, so I fear that I could experience loneliness or isolation if I do not have strong social support. My plan to avoid this is to stay close to those nieces! I’m open to the idea of senior centers, if I live in an area where I can access one at that point in my life. Thank you for reading!